Pink Grapefruit Pie

Still rocking the free Rio Star grapefruits I got from TexaSweet, I started thinking about some grapefruit pie.

I searched high and low until my fingers fell off and my eyes started bleeding, but the only recipes I could find for “grapefruit pie” involved strawberry gelatin. While I’m sure that’s a great recipe – why else would it be ALL OVER the internet – I was imagining something more like a fruit custard, and less like a Jell-O mold.


Then a recalled a conversation I’d had recently about buttermilk pie.

It was all gravy after that. Couple experiments, each more yummier than the last, and blammo, Grapefruit Buttermilk Pie. I know it sounds a little weird maybe, but as my li’l brother pointed out, it tastes like Froot Loops and Froot Loops are good. Don’t embarrass yourself by denying that.

Plus the inside of the pie is naturally pink and that’s cute as hell.

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Pink Grapefruit Pie

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4.6 from 5 reviews

Buttermilk pie with grapefruit

  • Author: Hilah Johnson
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 deep dish pie crust, unbaked
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons grapefruit zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup red grapefruit juice, fresh (about 1 grapefruit)
  • 1 stick butter, melted (8 tablespoons; 1/4 pound)
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • For garnish: 1 grapefruit cut into segments (supremes)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F
  2. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork.
  3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
  4. Brush a little of the eggs over the bottom of the crust and put into the oven for 5 minutes to pre-bake.
  5. Add the zest and sugar to the eggs and mix well. Add the milk, juice, and butter and mix.
  6. While whisking, sprinkle to flour in until all is combined well.
  7. Pour into the hot crust and bake about 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  8. Let cool completely and garnish with grapefruit segments.

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If you liked this recipe, you’ll probably also like Classic Key Lime Pie!

29 Comments

  1. Annmartina on February 16, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Love love love Rio Star grapefruit. Can’t wait to try your pie. The new Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook has a grapefruit & passionfruit pie that is absolutely divine!

    • Hilah on February 16, 2012 at 9:55 am

      Ooh, Annmartina, that pie sounds wonderful! I should get a copy of that book.
      Hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you post any pictures anywhere.
      -hilah

  2. Katie on February 16, 2012 at 9:49 am

    I hate grapefruit, but this pie does sound yummy. Do you think this would work with oranges? (Or would that likely not curdle the milk the same way since the acidity is less?)

    • Hilah on February 16, 2012 at 9:54 am

      Hi Katie!
      I think this would work great with oranges! I bet lemon or lime would be nice, too, but you might need to add a touch more sugar with those.
      Happy cooking!
      -hilah

  3. Eddie Alfaro on February 16, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. I love Rio Star grapefruit!

    • Hilah on February 16, 2012 at 12:48 pm

      They’re the best! 🙂

  4. Arron Umberger on February 21, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    I just stumbled upon this while browsing your site, and I must say it looks divine. I’m definitely going to have to try this. I love citrus and custard together – my favorite desert is key lime pie – so this sounds like a real winner to me.

    • Hilah on February 22, 2012 at 9:14 am

      Yay! A citrus-lover after my own heart. I hope you like it!

  5. Annie Rousis on February 24, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    I manage a little cafe in KC called You Say Tomato. We made this for the counter last week and received RAVE reviews. The first one came from me. Awesome recipe, thanks! Have you ever made the Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake? It’s one of our best selling cakes. Thanks again! Annie (P.S. Jane Almirall is my bud. She turned me onto you and I’m forever grateful.)

    • Hilah on February 25, 2012 at 8:52 am

      Hi Annie! That is so cool! I’m totally going to quote you on that. I am pretty positive no restaurant has every made and served anything of mine to their patrons. I’ve never even heard of the Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake. I’ll have to look it up while grapefruits are still kickin’.
      PS I love Jane!!! xoxo

      • Hilah on February 25, 2012 at 8:57 am

        OMIGOD. Just found this recipe for it. Sounds TO DIE FOR.

        Wait a sec. Annie, you trying to kill me???

      • Denise on September 20, 2015 at 9:33 am

        Excited to make this pie! Does it use milk or buttermilk?

        • Hilah on September 20, 2015 at 5:18 pm

          It’s regular milk. Enjoy!

  6. Jeff on February 25, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    Made this today (in addition to your pie crust) for my parents. Dad said it was a home run, yo! Thanks for the grub.






    • Hilah on February 26, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      YAY! That makes my heart sing happy songs of pie. Thanks for commenting!

  7. Andrey on April 1, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    There is wrong Video, from Valentine’s day recipe!

    • Hilah on April 2, 2012 at 11:58 am

      Oops! Fixed it. Thank you!

      • Ron on February 19, 2013 at 4:31 pm

        Nice double recipe…… lol

  8. Derrick on February 19, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Love your show! This reminded me of a dish that a former roommate’s mom always makes for Thanksgiving: pink grapefruit salad. Essentially, it’s grapefruit supremes — was that the word? — suspended in some gelatin with sour cream and sugar swirls. As I write this, I realize it sounds really grandma-y church potluck-y, but it was so good! I ate almost all of it and never got invited back.

    • Hilah on February 19, 2013 at 5:07 pm

      Oh dewd, that salad sounds awesome. I love old lady church recipes. They know good grubbin’! 😉

  9. Thomas on February 19, 2013 at 8:24 pm

    I read an interesting tip today. If you put a whole grapefruit in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove it and cool. You can peel it, and the sour pith comes off with the peel. Just thought I’d share. Haven’t tried it yet.

    • Hilah on February 20, 2013 at 9:35 am

      Thank you, Thomas! I’ve never heard that but it’s an easy trick to try out and see if it helps. 🙂

  10. Caleb Valdez on August 21, 2013 at 10:48 pm

    I have never had a citrus pie (other than Key Lime Pie), but this was a creamy, citrusy, delicious delight! And also very refreshing! (Who would’ve thought a pie could be so refreshing?) I didn’t have any grapefruit on hand, so I replaced it with a mix of orange and pomelo juice/zest. Still a great pie, but I will have to try and find Rio Star, if they’re sold here in Cali. I also posted a picture of a slice on Instagram if you wanna see it. (Username: kalbiv123)

    Thanks for the wonderful recipe, and for being so awesome!






    • Hilah on August 22, 2013 at 9:26 am

      Hi Caleb!
      I’m so glad you tried it out with other citrus fruits! I saw your picture on IG and it looked marvelous. 🙂
      Thanks for writing with your version and for sharing a picture!
      -h

  11. Emma on March 27, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    Hi hilah I was wondering if I can make this recipe with a gram cracker crust?






    • Hilah on March 28, 2014 at 11:18 am

      Hi Emma,
      I think that would work. The crust might get a little dark and possibly too toasted with the 40 minutes cook time, so you might want to lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

  12. Karen on January 29, 2015 at 1:51 am

    Hey Hilah, I was looking for a pie recipe with grapefruit and found yours! 🙂 I baked it ramekin-sized, and it took 30 min in 370 degree oven to be baked fully. I was kind of…. worried right after I made the custard mixture since it became clumpy pretty fast (because of the acid from the grapefruit juice I think?) and smelled not right, but after I baked it, it was nice and creamy! I thought I would never try a lemon custard (it just didn’t feel right), but you just proved that citrus custards could be great! Thanks!! 😀






    • Hilah on January 29, 2015 at 8:13 am

      Oh fantastic, Karen! Thanks for sharing the evolution of your pie making. I’m sure it will help other people not to lose hope when the mix goes all clumpy 🙂
      I agree that there’s something a little funny conceptually about citrus + milk custard, but somehow it works!

  13. Shabnam on February 23, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    It’s amazing..






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